Hotel Front Office Management, 3rd Edition

COMPONENTS OF THE REGISTRATION PROCESS 201of room, then a good sales attitude has been fostered. The idea that “I have to sell” isreplaced with “I want to make the guest’s experience the best it can be.” If a callermentions that a reservation is an anniversary gift to her parents, the reservationist maywant to suggest “a bayside room that overlooks the Charles River or a room that looksout on or the beautiful mountain ranges of the Poconos in Pennsylvania.”A front office manager should also devise an incentive program for the staff to maximizeroom rates. Incentives should be related to the needs of the employee. If money isthe motivator, then a financial reward (based on the average daily rate achieved for theevening above the standard average daily rate) is presented as a bonus to the desk clerk.This bonus could also consist of preference in scheduling, additional vacation or personaldays, or consideration for promotions. If employees know that their individual efforts inachieving room rate maximization will be recognized, they will be more enthusiasticabout selling. As with all incentive programs, the financial expenditures for the rewardsmust be cost-effective.The staff with the proper knowledge, vocabulary, and attitude will maximize roomrates better than the staff that is simply told to sell from the bottom up, a sales method thatinvolves presenting the least expensive rate first, or from the top down, a sales method thatinvolves presenting the most expensive rate first. These principles are important in achievinga maximum room rate. However, if the desk clerk or reservationist is armed with factsabout the product (rooms), familiar with words that accentuate the positive features of theproduct, and comfortable with selling as a procedure that improves the guest’s stay, thenhe or she is likely to generate higher room rates and encourage repeat business.Sales OpportunitiesThe front desk clerk has an unparalleled opportunity to promote the services of thehotel during guest registration. The front office manager who has adopted a marketingas well as a front office focus will understand the benefits of developing a front officestaff that is comfortable with salesmanship. The discussion here focuses on additionalroom reservations that can be garnered at registration and the promotion of additionalroom reservations.FUTURE RESERVATIONSThe front office manager should consider developing procedures for front desk clerksto follow that encourage a guest to book additional reservations during the check-inprocess. Suggesting additional reservations during registration may remind the businesspersonof the need for room accommodations the following week, when he or she willvisit a city with a hotel that is affiliated with the same chain. It may inspire the travelerwho has not made reservations for the rest of his or her trip and finds your rates veryattractive to stay in a chain member property. This promotion of member properties canbe a very profitable marketing concept. Front office managers in independent hotels willalso find this concept profitable. Independent hotels have the advantage of offering uniqueTLFeBOOK